Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one.

I bet you guys weren't expecting to see another chapter up so soon. Well this is due to me putting my other story The Return of the Betrayed Guardian on long term hiatus. This means that I'll be focusing solely on this story.

I've changed the rating of this from T to M because I read the guidelines and saw that things like the detailed injuries and swearing could be interpreted as M rated. Since I'm not sure whether the content in this story counts as above T or not I changed the rating to M because I'd rather be safe than sorry. Oh and don't worry this won't change any of the content – I'm not adding lemons or anything like that. I'm just doing this to make sure that I don't have any problems with the moderators. They tend to be a bit touchy at the minute when it comes to the guidelines.

I'll give another shout out to one of my frequent reviewers – CharmedMilliE – Not only has she given me a ton of reviews but she's also recommended this story to other people so thank you so much. Please can you guys take a bit of time to check out the story that she's writing at the minute - 'The Master Challenge'. It's a really good story that I thoroughly enjoy reading and I'm sure that you guys would as well.

This is one of the shorter chapters mainly because I wanted to get something up to explain the rating change and to shout out CharmedMilliE. Next chapter it's going to be the battle against Norman so look forward to that.

Here's chapter 43. I hope you enjoy it

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can get the gist of what his Pokémon are saying due to his close bond with them.

"- Human speech

'- Thoughts'

"- Telepathy

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Gary grinned and took the solitary Pokéball he had off of his belt, he'd only brought this Pokéball with him so he could battle Ash. He just wanted to make sure that Ash was focused and ready to take down the remaining Hoenn gym leaders.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Go Umbreon."

Umbreon burst out of the Pokéball and landed on the ground between Ash and Gary, Raichu immediately stepped forward despite Ash already having a Pokéball in hand. The mouse was determined to get revenge for the loss he'd suffered back when he was a Pikachu. That loss was the one that affected him more than any other, if he'd have actually done some damage then it wouldn't have been so bad but the fact that the Eevee had taken no damage was embarrassing.

'Alright Ash I'm ready.'

"Sorry buddy I know you want a rematch with him but I'm not using you."

'What? Why not?'

"This battle is to see if I'm ready to start battling competitively again so there's no point in battling with one of my most powerful Pokémon."

'Ok Ash I'll let you use who you want but I expect a rematch with Umbreon someday.'

"I'm sure that we can arrange that."

'Good. By the way I think you meant to say the most powerful Pokémon not one of.'

"I think Charizard would disagree with you."

'Ha that overgrown lizard doesn't scare me. He wouldn't stand a chance.'

Suddenly an enormous burst of flames shot into the air from the coral and a deafening roar made everyone cover their ears. Raichu quickly hid behind Ash and started looking around trying to spot Charizard. Ash looked down at Raichu who had clung on to his jeans and saw him looking around worriedly, the mouse stopped searching for Charizard and looked up at Ash who had a smug look on his face. Raichu released his grip on Ash's jeans and stood next to Meowth. The mouse turned his attention to the cat when he felt an elbow jab him, Raichu saw the Cheshire grin on Meowth face and groaned as he knew that some comment was about to be sent his way.

"Not scared huh?" Meowth whispered.

'Shut up.' Raichu mumbled.

Ash chuckled at the now pouting mouse and then turned his attention back to Gary and Umbreon. Ash remembered that he had a Pokéball firmly in his grasp and he threw it.

"Cyndaquil to the battlefield!"

The Pokéball opened and flames burst out of it revealing Cyndaquil, intense flames then erupted from the red spots on the fire mouse's back as he got ready to battle. Cyndaquil looked back at Ash and was relieved to see the confident grin and focused look that he had worn before Salem had temporarily broken him. This fired up (sorry for the pun) Cyndaquil for the battle and he cried out a challenge to Umbreon who smirked and barked back a similar challenge.

"Alright Cyndaquil let's start this with Flamethrower."

"Deflect it with Light Screen."

The flames on Cyndaquil's back became even more intense and he opened his mouth, a burst of flames then shot out and headed straight towards Umbreon who remained still. The dark type waited until the flames were getting close and then his eyes glowed yellow, a barrier then formed in front of him which made the flames shoot off in various directions.

"Now use Dig and hit Umbreon with Swift."

Cyndaquil nodded and stopped shooting the Flamethrower at Umbreon, he quickly dug underground leaving Umbreon to look around trying to guess where the fire type was going to appear from. Moments later the fire type burst out of the ground under Umbreon and slammed into his gut. This winded Umbreon and made the dark type stagger back, Cyndaquil then opened his mouth and shot several brilliant white stars at Umbreon. The stars slashed Umbreon creating cuts along his body, the dark type staggered back slightly as a large gash appeared on his right foreleg.

"Counter his Swift with your own then use Faint Attack."

"Match the Faint Attack with Quick Attack."

Umbreon ignored the pain he was feeling and fired a barrage of white stars out of his mouth. The two sets of stars clashed and shattered, Umbreon was then surrounded in a black aura and he ran in a zigzag pattern at Cyndaquil. The fire type watched Umbreon's movements carefully and waited until he was certain he knew where the dark type would be. He then glowed white and shot off at an amazing speed, he ran straight where he believed Umbreon would be and smirked when he saw Umbreon there. He rammed into the dark type but was shocked when he simply passed through him, Cyndaquil wondered where the dark type had gone and got his answer when he felt Umbreon slam into his side. The force behind the attack sent Cyndaquil crashing back to Ash, he landed on his back but quickly got back on his feet and exchanged an excited smirk with Umbreon.

Ash and Gary had similar looks on their faces and would gladly admit that they were enjoying this battle so far.

"I'm impressed Gary, you've improved since our last battle. You must have been training hard since we last fought."

"I did train a little but I did something far more important; I grew closer to them. I finally realized what you've always known and that's how important the bond was between me and my Pokémon. Now let's continue our battle, Umbreon use Dark Pulse."

"Shoot yourself into the air with Flamethrower."

Umbreon was surrounded in darkness and released a black wave of dark energy at Cyndaquil who opened his mouth and shot a burst of flames at the ground below him. The intense flames scorched the grass and sent him flying over the wave of dark energy into the air. Cyndaquil looked down at Umbreon with a cocky smile and was expecting Umbreon to have a frustrated scowl but was surprised to see that Umbreon and Gary were smirking.

"Shadow Ball."

Umbreon nodded and formed an orb of black energy in front of him; Ash suddenly realized the predicament Cyndaquil was now in and knew that he had only seconds to think of something to counter it. His time was up when he saw Umbreon launch the Shadow Ball at Cyndaquil, the orb rocketed through the air at an amazing speed and Cyndaquil started to worry when he saw it getting closer.

"Use Flamethrower again to launch yourself over the Shadow Ball then use Flame Wheel!" Ash yelled hoping that Cyndaquil heard him.

Luckily Cyndaquil did hear Ash and quickly shot another Flamethrower below him, this pushed him further up in the air but he was still clipped by the Shadow Ball on the right side of his body which sent a sharp jolt of pain through him. The fire type ignored the pain and rolled in a ball, the flames on his back then engulfed his body and he began spinning as gravity sent him hurtling to the ground. This insane speed that Cyndaquil was descending at meant that Umbreon had no time to react and the fire type slammed into Umbreon which drove the dark type in to the ground. Due to the momentum he'd gained Cyndaquil couldn't stop himself spinning and continued driving Umbreon through the dirt towards Professor Oak's lab.

The pair finally came to a stop when Umbreon's back slammed into a fence post, this catapulted Cyndaquil off of Umbreon and the fire type crashed through the roof of Professor Oak's Lab. Ash and Gary winced as they heard the sound of glass shattering coming from the lab. Cyndaquil staggered out of the building moments later as Professor Oak yelled about his broken test tubes and beakers. The fire type stood on wobbly legs in front of Ash and watched as Umbreon gingerly pushed himself to his feet and stood in front of Gary. Umbreon and Cyndaquil did their best to shrug off the pain that was shooting through them and stood strong and determined in front of their trainers.

Gary looked from the Pokémon to Ash and saw a focused, battle ready look in Ash's eyes. It was the same look he'd had when they'd fought in the Silver Conference and at the Togepi tournament and it showed that Ash was ready to go back to Hoenn. At the same time Ash was thinking the exact same thing, this battle was nothing like the one he had on the cruise ship against that kid. This battle felt just like the ones he'd fought when he first went to Hoenn where things seemed to slow down and he was able to strategize in mere moments.

"Now this is more like the Ash I know." Gary declared.

Ash remained silent and was already thinking about his next move. Gary and Ash were both pulled out of their thoughts when they heard Cyndaquil cry out loudly as the flames on his back started to get even more intense. They both knew what was happening and felt happy for the small fire type. Leaf suddenly stepped out of the crowd and crouched down near the fire type and watched him intently as the flames on his back were now engulfing him. She'd never seen a fire type evolve like this and was intrigued by it. Ash and Gary were soon crouched either side of her and were forced to shield their eyes as the flames surrounding Cyndaquil died down and he finally glowed white.

Moments later the light down revealing a sleek Quilava standing where Cyndaquil had been, the fire type opened his now ruby red eyes and stared at his new form. Tear s formed in Quilava's eyes as it sunk in that after all this time he'd managed to evolve. He cheered happily and started testing out his new body, getting used to the increased strength he could feel. Umbreon walked over and congratulated the fire type.

Ash felt pride rush through him as he watched Quilava checking out his new body. Out of all of his Pokémon the fire type had worked harder than anyone else, he was closely followed by Totodile and Phanpy who had both been determined to evolve too. He still remembered the dejected look on Cyndaquil's face when he'd found out that both Squirtle and Bulbasaur had evolved into Wartortle and Ivysaur before him all those months ago. Since that day Ash had been determined to do anything he could to help Cyndaquil evolve and was glad to see that all of Cyndaquil's hard work had finally paid off.

Quilava turned his gaze to Ash and ran at his trainer happily, Ash opened his arms and the fire type leapt into his arms. Ash hugged Quilava tightly as he was nuzzled by the fire type and he stroked Quilava's back.

"I'm so proud of you Quilava. I'm happy that your hard work has finally paid off." Ash whispered.

Gary and Leaf smiled softly at the scene, Gary then stood up and took Umbreon's Pokéball off of his belt. He pointed it at Umbreon and a red beam shot from the Pokéball to Umbreon.

"Umbreon come on back."

Ash saw the flash of red out of the corner of his eye and stood up with Quilava still in his arms.

"What's going on? Our battle's not over yet." Ash said.

Gary grinned and placed Umbreon's Pokéball back on his belt, he walked over to Ash and gently stroked Quilava's head.

"I've seen more than enough to know that you're ready to go back to Hoenn. Also Quilava is in much better shape than Umbreon now thanks to evolving so this match was pretty much over."

"Thank you Gary. This battle has erased all the worries I had over whether I was ready to head back to Hoenn."

"I'm just happy that I was able to help you out."

Ash placed his right hand on Gary's left shoulder and gripped it lightly, Gary quickly mimicked the action and the pair shared a look of mutual respect and friendship. They released their grip on each other's shoulders and then shook hands. Gary suddenly remembered that he had a gift for Ash that was sitting on the desk in his room He broke the handshake and then started walking towards the lab, a confused look appeared on Ash's face as he watched his friend walking away without saying a word.

"Hey Gary where are you going?" Ash asked.

"I just need to get something from the lab. I'll be right back." Gary replied.

Gary disappeared into the lab and a few minutes later came out with what appeared to be a deeper version of a box that held gym badges. He walked over to Ash and placed the box in Ash's hand. Ash put Quilava down and examined the box.

"What's in here?" Ash asked.

"Take a look for yourself." Gary replied.

Ash opened the box and saw several varieties of Pokéballs, it looked as though there was every kind of Pokéball in the box apart from the obvious ones like a Master Ball and a Safari Ball. Ash took the one on top which was a Dusk Ball out of the box and admired its polished surface as it gleamed in the bright sunlight. Ash placed it back in the box and looked at Gary.

"I'm sure you've already realized this but you have one of every make of Pokéball in there. Gramps told me that you'd run out so I thought I'd stock you up. Consider this a very belated birthday present."

"Thank you Gary. I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it."

Ash took his backpack off of his back and placed the box of Pokéballs in a spare compartment in his bag and slung it back over his shoulder. He walked over to his mother and hugged her again, she held her son tightly and cherished these final few moments she had with him before he goes back to Hoenn to pursue his dream.

"Please be careful Ash and try not to get into any trouble. I can't stand the thought of losing you."

Ash broke the hug and looked into his mother's eyes, he saw concern and love in her amber eyes and wasn't surprised. Since the start of his journey he'd been hurt and gotten involved in some very dangerous situations so Ash could see why she'd be worried about him.

"You won't lose me mum and I promise that I will try to stay as far away from danger as possible."

"Thank you Ash."

Delia hugged Ash again briefly and then released her grip on him. She smiled at Ash who gave her a nod and then he walked over to Leaf, he hugged his childhood friend tightly.

"I'll see you at the Hoenn League." Ash said.

"Yeah I'll see you there." Leaf replied.

Ash broke the hug and said his goodbyes to the rest of the inhabitants of Pallet Town; he then started walking down the path that led north towards Viridian City. He looked back and saw the whole of Pallet Town waving at him, he waved back at the people and carried on walking down the path.

When he got to the outskirts of Pallet Town Ash stopped looking back as everyone faded out of sight and he focused on the path ahead. The battle with Gary really had taken a weight off of his shoulder and he now felt confident that he was back to his best. He strolled along the path slowly, simply enjoying the tranquility around him. The only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of the Pidgey and the rustling of the bushes where the Rattata scavenged for food.

"Ash wait a minute!" a voice yelled.

The loud noise shattered the silence and caused the nearby Pidgey and Rattata to flee from the area. Ash watched the Pokémon flee and then turned around towards where the voice had come from and was surprised to see Leaf running along the path towards him. The brown haired girl ran up to Ash and took a few deep breaths to refill her lungs.

"Leaf? What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I want to go with you to Hoenn. We can spend a bit of time together on the journey there and then go our separate ways when we get to Slateport."

"That sounds good to me but I thought you wanted to stay here and train so that you can win your rematch with Flannery."

"I did but I'd rather spend some time with you. We lost a lot of time thanks to our journeys and I just want to make up that time. Besides I can stop and train on my way to Lavaridge Town."

Ash smiled and pulled Leaf into a hug, he felt her relax in his arms and return the embrace. Ash had to admit that he always felt happy when he had Leaf in his arms and would gladly stand like this all day.

"I'd like to spend some time with you too." Ash whispered.

The sound of Ash whispering into her ear caused shivers to run up Leaf's spine as she felt her knees momentarily turn to jelly, she tightened her hold on Ash and blushed as she felt his cheek brushing against hers. She pulled back so she could look at Ash and was transfixed by the gentle smile on his face and the caring look he was giving her. A part of her mind was screaming at her, telling her to stand on her tiptoes and lock lips with Ash. The sensible part of her mind disregarded that though and she settled for just remaining in Ash's arms.

"I have to be patient. I have to wait until he's ready for another relationship. He's still hurting from what that bitch did to him. I hope I see her when I'm in Hoenn so I can make her pay for what she's done." Leaf thought.

The pair finally broke the hug and started walking towards Viridian City; neither of them were in any rush so they walked slowly as they chatted about anything from the Pokémon in the area to the times they spent together during Christmas.

As he walked towards Viridian City with Leaf by his side Ash wondered how Kirlia and Glaceon would be without him around, it had been a hard decision but after a lot of thought he reasoned that the two of them needed to be away from him for a little while. They had become very dependent on him and in general tended to stick to him like glue rather than interact with the other Pokémon; that's why he wanted them to stay in Pallet for a while. It also gave Glaceon a chance to get to know Espeon, Vaporeon and Jolteon.

Leaf looked at Ash and saw that he seemed to be worrying about something, she thought for a moment about what could be bothering him and then remembered the tearful farewell he had with his Kirlia and Glaceon.

"Don't worry Ash I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Yeah you're right Leaf. It just feels weird not having them here."

Leaf understood how Ash felt, she still remembered the first time she'd left her Leafeon who'd been an Eevee at the time with Professor Oak. It had taken a while for her to stop worrying about her and getting used to Eevee not constantly clinging to her but she had known just like Ash does that young Pokémon at some point need to be left at the corral for a while so that they can gain some confidence around other Pokémon and to get some independence.

Ash and Leaf arrived in Vermillion a couple of weeks later, they'd have gotten there sooner but they had visited Brock and Misty on the way which had delayed them by a few days. This meant that they missed the ship they been intending to take by a day so they had no choice but to wait another couple of days for the next ship to arrive. They were luckily able to get a couple of rooms at the Pokémon Centre that were large enough for their Pokémon to sleep outside as well. They sent out their Pokémon who made themselves comfy in the room and then Ash and Leaf got into their beds and quickly fell to sleep.

Two days later the ship docked in Vermillion City late in the afternoon, Ash and Leaf waited on the edge of the docks and watched as the people started barging each other out of the way in an attempt to get on the boat first.

"Why do they all try to get on at once? They'd be better off waiting like we are." Leaf said.

"I guess they all just want to say that they got on the ship first. Maybe that makes them feel important or something." Ash replied.

After a while the crowd started to thin so Ash and Leaf stood at the back and waited for everyone in front of them to slowly get on board. By the time they finally got on the ship it was dark so they went and got something to eat then they shared a brief hug and split up so they could find their cabins and get some sleep. Ash placed his bag in the room and felt the cruise ship start to move. He lied down on his bed and drifted to sleep as the cruise ship took him towards Hoenn.

Notes

I made Gary a bit stronger in this so that Ash would actually have a challenge. He wouldn't prove anything to himself or anyone else if he just steamrolled Gary like he did in the Mirage Kingdom.

I know some of you will have wanted to see Raichu get his revenge on Umbreon but I chose Cyndaquil/Quilava to battle because he's one of my top ten favorite Pokémon.

Leaf won't be a travel partner for Ash, they're both heading to Hoenn and are parting at Slateport.

I've actually decided that the pairing in the sequel will be either Further Shipping or Ability Shipping – Depending mostly upon whether I do the Battle Frontier or head straight to Sinnoh. I was going to make a poll with about ten options but I changed my mind and chose to go for one of those two. There are far too few Further/Ability Shipping fics around which is a shame since they are both awesome pairings.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like. It really helps me know what I am doing right and what I can improve on.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Ash:

Kanto - Raichu, Meowth, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros(x24), Snorlax, Sandshrew, Jolteon (Shiny), Vaporeon (Shiny) & Aerodactyl

Johto - Totodile, Meganium, Quilava, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Hitmontop, Togetic, Sneasel, Espeon (Shiny) & Celebi

Hoenn - Marshtomp, Ninjask, Shedinja, Treecko, Vibrava, Zangoose, Sableye, Plusle, Minun, Raimodo & Kirlia

Sinnoh - Monferno & Glaceon (Shiny)

Kalos - Meowstic & Amaura

Pokémon currently on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Celebi, Quilava, Raimodo, Heracross, Sandshrew, Vibrava, Phanpy & Totodile